How mayor candidates managed campaign funds

Top runners for San Diego mayor made decidedly different choices

State Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher spent nearly $218,000 this year on a re-election bid he abandoned to run for mayor. Congressman Bob Filner transferred every cent he could from his federal campaign to his mayoral bid. City Councilman Carl DeMaio poured money into a signature-gathering effort for an anti-pension initiative. District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis hasn’t moved any funds.

The four major candidates for San Diego mayor made decidedly different choices with the money left over in campaign accounts established to help them get elected to their current political office. Technically, that money can’t be used to campaign for mayor unless the candidates transfer the money properly to comply with city campaign finance laws.

All four seem to be in compliance with the rules, but Fletcher’s spending for a possible 2012 re-election run for state Assembly caught the attention of one campaign finance expert.

“For Fletcher, the question will be what did he spend the money on and did he comply with all the rules and regulations?” said Robert Stern, with the Los Angeles-based Center for Governmental Studies. “My assumption is he did, but it sounds like an awful lot of money being spent a year before he announces for office.”

There’s no indication that Fletcher spent any of his Assembly campaign funds on activities related to the mayor’s race — a move that would be illegal.

Fletcher said he hadn’t yet decided whether to run for mayor and so he kept his Assembly campaign running on schedule. The campaign raised $175,000 and spent about $218,000 in the first half of the year, printing re-election endorsement cards for supporters, revamping his official website and collecting voter-registration data.

“All of our expenses were consistent with a possible run for re-election and then once a final decision was made to run for mayor then that account was wound down,” Fletcher said.

DeMaio opted to help his mayoral campaign in a roundabout way. He took $15,000 from a committee he created years ago to advance city issues and put it toward the signature-gathering effort for a proposed ballot initiative. The measure, which DeMaio helped craft, would replace guaranteed pensions with a 401(k)-style plan for most new city hires. DeMaio calls it the centerpiece of his mayoral campaign.

Filner took the more traditional route by transferring $36,000 from his congressional campaign to his mayoral fund. He said he moved all the money he could and won’t tap that source again.

Dumanis is the only candidate who hasn’t moved at least some money around despite having nearly $38,000 available in her district attorney campaign. She said she has no intention of transferring any money.

“The D.A.’s race and the money that was contributed was for that purpose,” Dumanis said. “It is for officeholder-type expenses but not for campaigning for another office.”

Stern said politics are always at play, even in campaign finance choices.

“The real question is why isn’t Dumanis doing it?” he said. “Maybe she’s not doing it so she can make an issue of everybody else doing it.”

How they have managed their campaign funds; what the law says

The four major candidates for San Diego mayor are each current officeholders at the city, state and federal level. As elected officials, they also have funds left over from previous campaigns that can be used in various ways to help their mayoral candidacy. The city’s campaign finance laws — and strict contribution limits — place constraints on how those funds can be used. Here’s a look at the rules and how each candidate has handled their non-mayoral funds.

He is the candidate with the deepest pockets, as evidenced by his personal contribution of nearly $274,000 to his own mayoral bid. He also pumped his own money into the “Reforming City Hall with Carl DeMaio” committee that he created years ago to support various city-related ballot initiatives. That committee recently transferred $15,000 to the “Comprehensive Pension Reform” campaign that is gathering signatures to place an initiative on the June 2012 ballot that would replace pensions with 401(k)s for most new city hires. DeMaio helped craft the proposal and would likely see his mayoral stock rise should it land on the ballot.

The law: Fundraising for initiatives is far less restrictive than it is for city candidates. Organizations and individuals can contribute as much as they want to support or oppose a ballot measure.

She didn’t raise any money for her district attorney campaign account this year but has nearly $38,000 left from her successful re-election bid last year. She has the option to transfer that money over to her mayoral campaign or, if her bid for mayor is unsuccessful, save it for the 2014 district attorney’s race. Dumanis said she has no plans to transfer any money.

The law: The contribution limit for city candidate races is $500 from individuals and $1,000 from a political party. Businesses, unions and other organizations are prohibited from contributing directly to candidates. The limits and prohibitions apply to transferred money as well, although there is no cap on how much in total is transferred as long as each $500 is attributed to an individual donor.

He transferred $36,000 from 173 donors from his congressional campaign account to his mayoral campaign on June 30. The congressional account now has less than $2,200 left and remains open. Filner said he plans to leave it open to help pay for travel and other expenses related to his federal job. Even with the transferred money, Filner finished last among the four major candidates in fundraising through June with about $104,000.

The law: To transfer money from one campaign to the next, the money must be attributed to an individual and can’t exceed $500. If the contribution is $500, then the person is prohibited from giving any additional money for that election. Federal and state officials face greater difficulty in transferring money to San Diego city races because many of their donors are businesses and political-action groups, contributions from which are prohibited by the city.

He spent nearly $218,000 from his “Fletcher for Assembly 2012” campaign account during the first six months of this year, completely draining the fund. The bulk of that money was spent on web design services, legal fees, political consultants, phone banking and campaign literature, according to his latest filing. Fletcher said none of the money was used to help him run for mayor because it was spent before he announced his candidacy. He said the money was spent on Assembly re-election materials and voter-registration lists for the district. He didn’t transfer any money from his Assembly account to his mayoral campaign.

The law: Candidates can’t raise money for one elected office and then spend it campaigning for a different office. The money must be transferred to the new campaign committee first to ensure that the donations comply with campaign finance laws of that jurisdiction. There’s no indication that Fletcher’s Assembly spending violated the law because he stopped that activity once he announced for mayor.